The growing expectations of companies towards IT equipment are related, among others, to more and more advanced and demanding applications, which is best felt when using personal computers and phones. – It is similar in the case of advanced IT environments, and that is why flash technology responds to the growing demand for business applications.
Flash storage systems in IBM devices significantly accelerate infrastructure performance – they are designed to meet the needs of modern applications requiring high performance. Each product is characterized by minimal latency in response time (so important, e.g., for the correct operation of databases), operational efficiency, and critical reliability.
A clear drop in prices also accompanies the technological development in the storage segment. 20TB of space on SSD disks (all-flash matrix) costs about 60 thousand. Zloty. For comparison: not so long ago, this was the price of one SSD with a capacity of 400 GB.
Downtime too expensive
One of the trends affecting the IT device market is the increasing speed and capacity requirements. The second essential thing is to maximize the use of the equipment. – Our customers are increasingly paying attention to the fact that the systems are to operate without interruption. Companies cannot afford downtime, and it is an easily quantifiable loss for them. Therefore, either all systems must be duplicated to a backup center, which can be switched to in the event of a failure, or be reliable enough not to generate interruptions.
The HyperSwap technology used in IBM devices offers the possibility of building an infrastructure with the highest level of availability, based on two disk arrays. Thanks to this, even in the event of failure or loss of one center, the HyperSwap functionality ensures continuous access to data. For more advanced environments, IBM offers, for example, SVC (SAN Volume Controller) solutions.
The virtualization technology also contributes to the increase in infrastructure performance. For years, enterprises have been integrating separate data, copying it for analysis from various operating systems to centralized databases. However, such a solution costs a lot and is prone to errors. Thanks to virtualization, you can query data from different systems without copying or replicating them, which generates lower costs. On the one hand, this functionality allows to use the previously purchased equipment, and on the other – to reduce the costs and risks associated with the implementation of new solutions.
Modern technology and business benefits
IT equipment: One of the clients where Averbit engineers have modernized arrays, mass storage systems, and disks is a courier company leading on the Polish market. – The problem in this company was the efficiency of the storage, which caused the system to slow down at times. This was seen in internal measurements. When the workload reached one million parcels a day, the pre-Christmas period was challenging each year. We proposed replacing the matrices with those that use modern flash drives. Additionally, we have implemented an IBM virtualizer. The project’s main goal was to transfer key data to high-speed and efficient flash drives. In conjunction with the company’s resource virtualization, a very significant increase in productivity was achieved. The most important thing was that the system did not “notice” the December traffic growth at all, which was a measurable success for the client.
The implementation of NVMe standards solutions is so important that most applications will probably require this technology in a few years. Companies that decide to take half-measures will have to bear the double cost of adapting their infrastructure. Meanwhile, the prices of a fully NVMe-ready matrix are already the same as the arrays based on SAS technology that has been present on the market for a long time.
Another client – one of the market leaders in the production of windows, doors, and roller shutters – approached Averbit to transfer all of its products and systems to flash drives. – It was even about repositories of databases and systems, which employees of the company rarely use. The company has concluded that it will be a very profitable decision in the long run because flash drives are less unreliable, and they are not more expensive than standard disk drives with large volumes.
Lower and lower costs
A drop influences the availability of advanced IT equipment in prices and a change in the pricing policy of producers, which allows for significant savings during operation. Purchasing a disk array is one thing, while the costs associated with its maintenance are a completely different, critical area. In the case of IBM storage, continuous monitoring of the mass storage environment is possible thanks to the free Storage Insight software. However, the savings do not end there. The constantly growing amount of data usually generates additional costs related to the expansion of the IT environment. Meanwhile, IBM tools allow you to compress resources up to 85% (depending on the environment and its parameters) without losing performance, which gives huge savings in terms of space on the media. Such technologies such as deduplication, thin provisioning, and EasyTier are also standard. The novelties include the so-called automatic mechanisms for complaints about unused space, which allow for creating several virtual, separated arrays within one physical device.
– These are essential changes that are significant for customers. First of all, the prices of drives and all-flash technology are falling, but additionally, IBM is trying to include more and more functionalities in the basic price of the device. So we get ready-to-use solutions that allow for more activity without the need to incur additional costs – says Andrzej Gładysz.
Technology is not only for giants.
IT equipment: The increasing availability of flash technology and other advanced solutions means that these tools appear not only in large companies. – For some time now, we have been clearly observing the interest of small and medium-sized companies. Entrepreneurs are curious about technological innovations and how they can translate them into their business. And this is a very good phenomenon because nowadays, highly advanced solutions are no longer reserved exclusively for companies from the enterprise sector. Smaller and medium-sized companies use them more and more often – admits Andrzej Gładysz.
How to use the potential of modern information technology in your own business? It is enough to contact Averbit experts who, after identifying the environment and the company’s needs, will propose the best solutions, taking into account competitive prices. – Each case is different, and companies have different needs. That is why, together with our clients, we develop the best solutions that will improve their business results.
Also Read : Explanation Of Blockchain Technology
